Archive for gluten free – Page 2

It’s Fall!! Well, sort of… Here in Southern California where the temperatures are said to reach the 90’s this week it hardly feels like mid October! But none-the-less I wanted to share with you a super easy and fabulous Fall recipe I whipped up the other night when some friends came over for dinner. This would make a perfect protein substitution for Thanksgiving or a fabulous side dish for those veggies and gluten-free’s coming over for dinner. I hope you enjoy as much as we did

Quinoa Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Serves 8

What you’ll need:

4 sweet potatoes

1 cup quinoa

2 cups vegetable broth

1 tbsp. butter substitute like Earth Balance or olive oil

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 cups kale, broken into 1 inch pieces

1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

1/4 cup (plus) dried cranberries

salt and pepper

What you’ll do:

Bake the sweet potatoes in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until fork tender. Remove and let cool.

While they are cooking, make your filling. Cook the quinoa in the vegetable broth. And while that is cooking, saute the onion in the butter and olive oil with a pinch of salt until soft. Add in the kale, almonds, and cranberries and saute until the kale is soft, about 3 minutes. Add the finished quinoa to the frying pan and mix together.

Slice each sweet potato in half lengthwise and scoop out the filling. You can either add this to your quinoa mixture or save for a later recipe like soup or smashed potatoes.

Fill each potato shell with the quinoa filling and bake in a 350 degree oven for twenty minutes or until warm. Serve immediately.

Thanksgiving is on it’s way! I’ve been cooking up a storm of new recipes and when I thought about which one to post first, I thought I’d start with one of the ultimate staples that will probably appear on every American table. Mashed potatoes. You have to love them, they are the foundation on which you can pile just about everything lol! So here is how I make mine

Boil the potatoes with the skin on in salted water until fork tender, about 25 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes. Drain and peel if you are not fond of the skins. I personally peel about half of them cause I like a little skin 😉 Place the potatoes back in the pot or a large bowl with the “butter”. Mash with a potato masher and add the soy milk a 1/4 cup at a time until you get your desired consistency. Today it took about 1/2 cup. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Helpful tips & ideas:

– If you like your potatoes extra smooth, you can use a hand mixer. Just be sure to not raise the power above medium. If you whip them on high the potatoes will become “gluey” and gross.

– Feel free to stir in ingredients! Mashed potatoes are delicious with sauteed leeks stirred in or chopped green onions.

– One of my favorite things is using half sweet potatoes and half yukon gold potatoes, they turn out amaaaazing! Def give it a try!

I don’t know about you, but I love that it’s finally Fall in Southern California! Right around this time, I start to freeze and jar seasonal fruits and veggies to store up for wintertime so I can make delicious soups like this. Here’s a fun video on Dasani Facebook page showing you how!

Enjoy my easy-peasy Creamy Corn & Butternut Squash Soup — great as a make-ahead meal or a yummy Thanksgiving soup. By the way, the longer it sits the better the flavor develops.

What you’ll do:
Drizzle about 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pot and set heat on medium. Add in the onions and toss. When they get soft after a couple minutes, add in the squash and garlic and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and let sit while you take the kernels off the corn. Add the corn from 3 of the cobs to the pot along with the broth. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the squash is tender.
Very carefully, transfer the soup to a blender and in batches puree and return to the pot. Season with the cinnamon and cayenne. Taste and season as necessary. Keep the soup on low heat.
Serve warm and you can swirl with some vegan yoghurt if you want to be fancy 😉

A couple weeks ago at Green Festival in DC I met a lovely woman (well, I met a lot of wonderful people!), but one woman who described to me a vegan “crab” salad that sounded fabulous that she had eaten at a restaurant once. She challenged me to make a similar dish and from her description, this is what I came up with. The recipe she described also had quinoa in it, but I wasn’t sure it needed it, but feel free to add and let me know how it goes

Halve and slice the hearts of palm and combine with the onion, celery, and Old Bay seasoning in a medium bowl. Add in the vegenaise and mix well. To plate, lay a slice or two of tomato on the plate, top with some diced avocado and finish by scooping some salad on top. Serve chilled or room temp.

Corn is one of my all time favorite Summer produce! It can be like a burst of sunshine in your mouth when it’s sweet and fresh! Here is one of my favorite go-to simple salad recipes that’s always a crowd pleaser.

Arugula & Corn Summer Salad

Serves 6

6 oz. arugula

2 ears of corn, zipped

a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

dressing:

1/4 cup champagne vinegar

1/3-1/2 cup olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Toss all the ingredients and the dressing together and serve immediately.

This is a recipe idea that I found in my Mom’s recipe box. I love the idea of stuffing anything in a tomato and these turned out pretty tasty! The recipe originally had some odd ingredients so I mixed it up a little

Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Avocado

Ingredients:

30 large cherry tomatoes

1 large ripe avocado

1/2 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. grated onion

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cut thin slices off the top of the tomatoes and scoop out the pulp with a spoon.

In a medium bowl, mash the avocado with all the spices until smooth. Fill the tomatoes with avocado mixture. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

When I was at Trader Joe’s last, I found these gorgeous fresh shelled peas and I decided I had to have them and risotto would be the perfect way to use them And the addition of lemon gives this risotto just the right amount of fresh flavor to make the risotto light and easy on these Summer nights.

Now I know a lot of people are scared to make risotto. Let me be clear: it’s not hard! BUT it does take patience and attention. This isn’t the kind of meal you can let cook and walk away from. Trust me, this juice is worth the squeeze when it comes to risotto!

Lemon & Fresh Pea Risotto

Serves 6

What you’ll need:

2 leeks

4 cloves of garlic

1 1/2 cups aborio rice (risotto rice)

1 bottle of dry white wine (I used pinot grigio), room temperature

3 cups vegetable broth

1/2 lemon, juiced

zest of 1/2 lemon

1 cup of shucked peas

salt and pepper to taste

What you’ll do:

In a large heavy pot saute the leeks and aborio rice in a few tablespoons of olive oil until the rice is coated with olive oil and slightly toasted. A very light translucent/golden color is what you are looking for. Pour in enough wine to cover the rice and leeks. Stir until the wine is absorbed. Add enough wine again to cover the rice. Again stir until absorbed. Repeat until the entire bottle is gone. Add in the garlic and lemon juice. Then use the vegetable broth in the same way. When you add the last of the broth, add in the peas. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately garnished with lemon zest.

I was in the grocery store the other day craving a spinach and strawberry salad… I spotted some kale and thought: hmmm…. what about kale instead of spinach? You know there are some thoughts you are just so happy you have? Well, this is one of them. Kale and strawberries are an excellent combo!! Definitely going to be my new go-to salad all Summer! And it’s just perfect for bbq’s and potlucks cause the more the dressing sits on the kale the nicer it tastes! Say goodbye to soggy salads this Summer!

After you wash your kale well, pat it dry and cut the stalk off and discard. Chop the leaves leaving them salad lettuce size pieces and place in a big salad bowl. (the leaves will reduce to about 1/3 of the size when you dress it) Make the dressing. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Taste and vary as needed. Pour the dressing over the kale leaves and massage with your hands. Yup, you heard me correctly! Get your hands in the kale and massage it like you would dough. Do this for about a minute; you’ll start to feel the kale soften. Add in the rest of your ingredients and serve immediately or hours later. I promise you, this salad won’t wilt!

After a long Winter of eating tons of heavy food (way too much pasta for me!), the light delights of Spring are super appealing! This was one of those “this is in my refrigerator right now” salads and I have to say I kinda love it! Packed with vitamins and minerals and perfect for helping get this bod in shape for Summer 😉

Yesterday when I was making soup (a complete disaster and a whole other story!) I looked at some ingredients I had on the counter and thought… these could be really good together. With a wing and a prayer, I whipped up this mash in a matter of minutes and it turned out to be pretty darn tasty! I would recommend serving as a side dish or maybe with some sauteed veggies over it. Enjoy!

Springtime Mash

Serves 2-4

What you’ll need:

3-4 large red potatoes, peeled (I like to leave some of the skin on if you do too that’s fine)

1 celery root, peeled and quartered

2 tbsp. vegan butter (like Earth Balance)

1/4 cup chopped watercress

salt and pepper

What you’ll do:

Boil the potatoes and celery root in a pot. When fork tender, strain and return to the warm pot. Add in the vegan butter and mash with a fork or potato masher. For a smoother mash you can use an electric hand mixer. When the right consistency, stir in the watercress and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.